India v Sri Lanka, World T20, final

This time for Sri Lanka

Choice of Game
A well deserved finale to a short but wonderful tournament and an equally fitting finale to two of the most prolific cricketers of their nation. It wasn't really a question about choice. Why would anyone in their right minds, with access to tickets, miss the final of the World T20 in their home country?

Team Supported
A substantial portion of the stadium at the beginning of the match was supporting India, though a small and significant number was also supporting Sri Lanka. However, as the match moved forward the balance in the crowd considerably shifted in Sri Lanka's favor. I like the Indian team - they are well rounded and they have an incredibly talented player in Virat Kohli. But as I have already mentioned in my previous fan report I genuinely believe Sri Lanka deserved to win this one.

Key performer
As Darren Sammy had said so correctly during his press conference, 'the Almighty wanted Sangakara and Jayawardane to end on a high'. The key man was undoubtedly Kumar Sangakkara, who won the game for Sri Lanka and was adjudged Man of the Match. It must also be said that the Sri Lankan win was a team effort, with everyone putting up their best performance on the field. A honorable mention to Virat Kohli too - he is definitely the future of Indian cricket and was thoroughly deserving of the Man of the Tournament award.

Shot of the day
The winning shot by Thisara Perera was the shot of the day for me. Luck today was in favor of the Lankans rather than the Indians, and it was evident from the toss to the edges that went in Sri Lanka's favour.

One thing I would change about the match
My first thought was nothing, I wouldn't want to change anything about the match, but as an afterthought I realized, I would have loved Bangladesh in the final. As far as T20 matches go this was a cracker, the rain before the match actually made it better, the atmosphere was cooler and the breeze was lovely. This time I was sitting far away from the speakers which meant I couldn't understand or properly hear the emcee and I was absolutely fine with it.

Fancy dress index
Two individuals in the adjoining stands caught my eyes. They were wearing lungis and England's jersey (not the solar red version). To top it off they had the colourful Malinga wig on. They were looking absolutely dapper. It topped off the wonderfully colourful month of fun that we have had in Bangladesh, and today was its climax.

Entertainment
The music wasn't very audible in the stand I was sitting in. We kept ourselves entertained quite well. There were multiple rounds of Mexican Waves and lots of spontaneous chanting - in support of India, Sri Lanka and even Bangladesh. The Bangladesh cricket team's performance was questionable but I believe Bangladesh as a host performed its part well.

Marks out of ten
I would give it a grand total of 9.5 out of 10. Some would say it was a one-sided contest but I was in the stadium and I can vouch for the effort India made to defend the total that was given to them. I feel privileged to have been part of the hosting nation which has successfully entertained so many international teams and a memorable tournament. Hopefully everyone appreciated the hard work that goes into making a tourney of this magnitude possible, and enjoyed the proceedings live or on TV.

Mayisha is an intern at RTM International and a second year law student. She is one of those 'We are still with you Tigers' Bangladesh supporters. She tends to think to about cricket and cricketers (mostly just Stuart Broad) whenever she is free

@Iftekharul Hasan Siam: going by the theory that "this time's hosts win the next time", it should be Bangladesh.

Posted by android_user
on (April 8, 2014, 1:52 GMT)

@Mayisha - Well written. & as a Sri lankan I must say you, people of Bangladesh are really cricket loving set. U all were there in the stadium even BD was not playing. u always supported, cheered good crickey & cheered SL as well. Thanks BD fans
And u all r truly cricket loving cos u never hurt your heroes in their defeats or mistakes. Anyteam there can be rough patches time to time. hope BD will get on with current small drawback soon. What I feel is they just need to handle the pressure more masterfully & they need to control their urge to hit 4s or 6s to evry ball. Good luck BD cricket. Thanks for the nice tournament u gave to world cricket. Thanks for supporting SL in the tournament!

Posted by &nbsp
on (April 7, 2014, 17:21 GMT)

Absolutely, who would have thought Bangladesh had it in them to host back to back tournaments with such success after the uncertainties in the beginning. And that tune of world cup theme song it's really catchy. Icing on the cake..quite memorable world cup. Shame host team couldn't leave a substantial mark..may be next time...they should be according to the pattern of host team winning right next one.

Posted by &nbsp
on (April 7, 2014, 15:39 GMT)

@KingOwl the term 'future' was in the context of the game; as in he will/may win a Cup for India in the 'future'. Maybe as a Captain. Hope thats cleared, enjoy :)

Posted by &nbsp
on (April 7, 2014, 15:29 GMT)

Well written Mayisha. Thank you Bangladesh supporters for well wishing us.~ honors from Sri Lanka~

Posted by KingOwl
on (April 7, 2014, 14:10 GMT)

Virat Kohli is not the future of Indian cricket. He has been their 'present' for the last couple of years. He has carried them on his young shoulders. Without Kohli, India would have lost many more matches.

Posted by &nbsp
on (April 7, 2014, 13:06 GMT)

India, Pakistan, this time Sri Lanka... maybe next time Bangladesh!!!

Posted by UmairFazlani
on (April 7, 2014, 11:01 GMT)

Bangladeshi crowd was superb since day one weather match between minnows or big teams irrespective of BD playing or not they were there to support cricket and respect given by them to our team (Pakistan) was simply great. Hats off to our Brothers they really deserve to be discuss in talk shows or any other article (specially written for them).